Artificial Light ~ Brisbane Newborn Baby Photography

A quick post to share with you my beautiful new light.

There have been A LOT of articles written about natural light verses artificial light. I’m not going to go into which is better and why because quite simply it should be what you’re comfortable using plus it always ends up in a debate and I’m way too busy for that 😉

Over the years I have used both flash and natural light and have always preferred to use natural. I’m just not a fan of large bursts of light on a newborn that could potentially cause a startling effect or you know yourself when a flash goes off in your face that your eyes take a little while to adjust afterwards. And then there are the parents who are trying to relax in the calm environment that I have created – I want them to be able to sit and enjoy watching the session without the impact of light every few minutes. But hey that’s me personally.

My studio is filled with amazing natural light, I have large sliding doors that are north east facing and I filter the light with sheer curtains to make it beautiful and soft for my baby photography. But when I travel for work I don’t often have the luxury of natural light which is why I have purchased the Jinbei EF 200 watt sunlight LED with the 50cm soft ball diffuser which is a continuous daylight balanced light. I can set up during a session the exact same way I would with a window.

After posting a picture on social media of my new light I had a few requests from photographers wanting to see some resulting images. So I thought I would share with you some photos of this handsome little man using both light sources to show you the results. I have also included pull back shots of both set ups.

I used large black sheets to block out the natural light for the Jinbei image and then turned the light off and pulled the black sheets down to use the window light. You don’t have to block out the windows as this light would also make a great fill light on low light days or for other similar scenarios. I just wanted to show the results using it on it’s own – the same way I would a window 🙂

Full details about the light with links to where you can find it are at the bottom of the post.

ARTIFICIAL LIGHT – shot with the Jinbei EF 200 watt sunlight LED

***

NATURAL LIGHT – Large windows to the right filtered with sheer curtains.

I will always love natural light and will continue to use it in my home studio but I’m so happy to have found a light that I can travel with that will allow me create beautiful soft light in any environment. The results are so similar to shooting with my large window. And I have to admit I love the little catchlight in his eye from the Soft Ball.

A few more details about the Jinbei EF 200 – it’s a 200watt light which equates too a 2K output in Tungsten. Unlike tungsten it is daylight balanced and extremely bright , you also have the ability to control the output from the camera with the optional transmitter. The light does NOT overheat because of its unique built in silent fan system, which is it’s best feature if you are shooting Video like I do as there is no noise. No other LED monbloc currently has this quiet fan. The Soft Light Ball is available in 30cm and 50cm and both give unique soft direct light as well as reflected.

WOW! These images are stunning! As a fellow newborn photographer, I really appreciate your stunning use of light and angles that provide depth and interest. You have a true gift. The parents must be thrilled with the art you have given them. Gorgeous work!ReplyCancel

Grace -September 1, 2017 - 02:22

Thank you for the article. I would like to ask why you prefer the ball diffusor instead of another option like a softbox or an umbrella. Is there an advantage to it?ReplyCancel

Hi Grace, this is just personal preference. Kelly actually uses a range of artificial light modifiers, and the ball diffuser is just one of them that creates a soft light. Try out a variety of them and decide which works best for you. -MelindaReplyCancel

Thank you so much Kelly, for sharing your lighting knowledge with us. Upon your suggestion I purchased this lighting system about a year ago and I absolutely love it! I am a natural light photographer but this baby gets turned on as the light progressively gets dimmer on some days. It does a wonderful job of mimicking natural light and everyone seems impressed by it’s unique look in the studio. I think it’s important to turn it off between takes to give it a chance to cool down though. This is not something I suggest to leave on for hours at a time. It’s perfect for photographing newborns but it is also perfect for capturing small families.Wonderful purchase all and all.ReplyCancel

I’m a natural light photographer too, not sure what it is I just love the challenge of working with what’s available.
Your studio sounds amazing, do you have any blog posts with photos of your space?ReplyCancel

Hi Kelly, thanks for sharing. I really like this softball, do you still use this ? I’m living in the netherlands, so not that easy to get this item 🙁
Do you think, there is enough Light for photograph older kids? Can I do my shutterspeed high enough? On this moment I used flash a lot… but, I didnt like that light so much. ThanksReplyCancel

kim -October 18, 2015 - 05:02

Can anybody tell me where I can Buy the soft ball ? I’m living in the netherlands, maybe someone have an idea for me 🙂
And, is it heavy to take this set on location? gr kimReplyCancel

I’ve got it from Italy ( I’m living in Italy) in totally happy with this light. Big Thanks to Kelly <3
You can search and find it in Europe, my husband found one link selling this light from Germany 100w & 200w, 2 size ball 30cm &50 cm. I bought the 200w with the ball 50cm about 600euro but I just release that too much for my small studio, may be with 100w and the 30cm ball is good enough. Hope you can find the link and get the right one for you;)ReplyCancel

Samantha Cartwright -September 11, 2015 - 06:51

Hi Kelly,

We have just bought one of these but have read on the Facebook group page others are struggling with intensity and WB. What were your camera settings and light settings for this shot? ThanksReplyCancel

Rebecca Morozov -July 6, 2015 - 12:07

Hi there, your photos are amazing. I was wondering if you can help me please? I would like to learn and set up a mobile newborn studio in my town of Geraldton WA and am confused how to handle lighting, it may not always be possible to use all natural light depending on house I am photographing from , and the Jenbi lighting you use is rather expensive. I would like something versatile that I can also use for families, pets ect. Is shoot through stove going to be ok for infants ? Continuous? Not continuous? Soft Box?
Thank you so much for your help,
Regards RebeccaReplyCancel

Kelly, thank you so much for your willingness to share all your helpful information about props, lighting, techniques, and everything else that you are sharing with all of us. It is so greatly appreciated. God Bless!ReplyCancel

Thank you for all the information you are sharing with us. Via your blog and via the courses (I purchased all your courses from creativelive). I (also) prefer natural light but from time to time there is just not enough light available (dark rainy days) and then I also use artifical (continuous) light. I wonder, with what aperture/shutter speed/iso you can shoot using the artifical light you use?

Thank you Kelly, for sharing this wonderful information. I wanted to learn more about the nests you use, but the link in the article for Island Vine Designs doesn’t seem to be working. I was wondering if you could share the link again. Thank you in advance!ReplyCancel

Jessica -January 30, 2015 - 02:09

What white balance did you set on your camera when using shot with the Jinbei EF 200 watt sunlight LED? Thank youReplyCancel

Jessica -January 30, 2015 - 02:08

What white balance do you set on your camera when you use shot with the Jinbei EF 200 watt sunlight LED? Thank you for the article. I have never used anything but natural light but looking for indoor lighting options and this looks great.ReplyCancel

Thank you for this blog post, Kelly!
Just wondering if your white balance was the same for both set-ups or if that artificial light you are using is close enough to daylight and you don’t have to worry about changing your white balance 🙂
Thank you!ReplyCancel